Your monthly support provides voters the knowledge they need to make confident decisions at the polls. Donate today.
Lesli Fitzpatrick
Lesli Fitzpatrick (Republican Party) ran for election for the Seat 4 judge of the Texas Third District Court of Appeals. She lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Fitzpatrick completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Fitzpatrick was a 2016 candidate for the Seat 2 on the Williamson County Court at Law in Texas.[1] She was defeated in the primary election on March 1, 2016.
Biography
Education
Fitzpatrick earned her B.A. from the University of Texas of the Permian Basin in 1994. She later earned her M.A. from Baylor University, and her J.D. from the South Texas College of Law.[2]
Career
Fitzpatrick is a private practice attorney. She previously worked for 15 years as an assistant county attorney with the Ector County Attorney's Office.[2]
Elections
2022
See also: Texas intermediate appellate court elections, 2022
General election
General election for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Place 4
Rosa Lopez Theofanis defeated Lesli Fitzpatrick in the general election for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Place 4 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Rosa Lopez Theofanis (D)  | 52.6 | 558,955 |
 | Lesli Fitzpatrick (R) | 47.4 | 503,131 | |
| Total votes: 1,062,086 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary runoff election
The Democratic primary runoff election was canceled. Rosa Lopez Theofanis advanced from the Democratic primary runoff for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Place 4.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Beth Payán (D)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Place 4
Rosa Lopez Theofanis and Beth Payán advanced to a runoff. They defeated Paula Knippa in the Democratic primary for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Place 4 on March 1, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rosa Lopez Theofanis | 49.0 | 75,171 |
| ✔ | Beth Payán | 29.9 | 45,880 | |
| Paula Knippa | 21.2 | 32,505 | ||
| Total votes: 153,556 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Place 4
Lesli Fitzpatrick advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Place 4 on March 1, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lesli Fitzpatrick | 100.0 | 168,126 |
| Total votes: 168,126 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
2016
| Williamson County Court at Law (Number 2), Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Laura Barker |
32.71% | 15,616 |
| Warren Waterman |
25.88% | 12,359 |
| Brandy Hallford | 23.29% | 11,118 |
| Lesli Fitzpatrick | 18.12% | 8,653 |
| Total Votes | 47,746 | |
| Source: Williamson County, Texas, "Unofficial Election Day Results," accessed March 2, 2016 | ||
Selection method
- See also: Partisan election of judges
Judges of the county courts are elected in partisan elections by the county they serve and serve four-year terms, with vacancies filled by a vote of the county commissioners.[3]
Qualifications
To serve on a county court, a judge must:[3]
- be at least 25 years old;
- be a resident of his or her respective county for at least two years; and
- have practiced law or served as a judge for at least four years preceding the election.
Endorsements
Fitzpatrick received the following endorsements in 2016:[4]
- Georgetown City Councilmember Tommy Gonzalez
- Williamson County Clerk Nancy Rister
- Former Georgetown City Councilmember Bill Sattler
- Leander City Councilmember Michelle Guidry Stephenson
- Round Rock City Councilmember Kris Whitfield
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Lesli Fitzpatrick completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Fitzpatrick's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
- Will follow the rule of law.
- Will follow the Constitution.
- Will not legislate from the bench.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2016
Fitzpatrick participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of local judicial candidates. The following sections display her responses to the survey questions. When asked what non-judicial legal experience qualifies her to be a judge, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | My legal credentials match exactly with what this court currently hears. This court is a predominately criminal law court. Fifty percent of misdemeanors filed in Williamson County are heard by this court. I have been both a prosecutor and criminal defense lawyer. Therefore, I will have a balanced perception of criminal matters heard by this court. This court also hears half of the civil matters filed in the County Courts. Having served as the Civil Litigation Coordinator and handling civil matters in my private practices has given me the experience necessary to preside over this docket. This court recently acquired the Involuntary Mental Health Commitment docket. As I stated earlier, I have represented these clients for over two years and I am very familiar with mental health law. I have had over four years of annual training put on by the Texas Center for the Judiciary and the Texas Association of Drug Court Professionals as the Evaluator for the DWI/Drug Court team. It will be an easy transition from attorney to judge. I will be ready on day one to assume the role of judge.[5][6] | ” |
When asked why she was running for this particular court seat, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | I believe that this is my job. All of my experience both professionally and personally have prepared me for this position. I have a passion for the specialty courts and the mental health docket. This court is about saving lives. I stood in front of a judge as a youthful 21 year old. That was a wake up call for me. I took that bull by the horns and I have never looked back even to the point of going to law school and having a successful legal career. I want to help people. I want to be the people's attorney of Williamson County.[5][6] | ” |
When asked to identify one judge, past or present, who she admires, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | William Rehnquist is probably my favorite. Justice Rehnquist favored a conception of federalism that emphasized the Tenth Amendment's reservation of powers to the states. He and I have the same judicial philosophy.[5][6] | ” |
When asked about her primary concern regarding today's judicial system in her state, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | I think we can make more improvements in the Criminal Justice System and we need to take a hard look at the Mental Health crisis in our State and the United States.[5][6] | ” |
See also
2022 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Texas Third District Court of Appeals Place 4 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Texas Secretary of State, "Official candidate list," accessed December 18, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lesli Fitzpatrick for Judge, "About," accessed February 22, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Texas Secretary of State, "Qualifications for Office," accessed January 14, 2016
- ↑ Lesli Fitzpatrick for Judge, "Endorsements," accessed February 22, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Ballotpedia's local judicial candidate survey, 2016, "Lesli Fitzpatrick's Responses," February 20, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| ||||||||||
Federal courts:
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas
State courts:
Texas Supreme Court • Texas Court of Appeals • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals • Texas District Courts • Texas County Courts • Texas County Courts at Law • Texas Statutory Probate Courts • Texas Justice of the Peace Courts
State resources:
Courts in Texas • Texas judicial elections • Judicial selection in Texas
